Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- France Telecom SA is eyeing an
expansion into Morocco as it considers spending as much as
7 billion euros ($9.1 billion) on African and Middle Eastern
acquisitions.

The largest French phone company “confirms its interest in
the Moroccan telecom market,” spokesman Tom Wright said by
phone today. Wright declined to comment on a report in Moroccan
newspaper Le Matin that said Paris-based France Telecom is in
talks to take a 40 percent stake in local operator Medi Telecom
SA.

France Telecom is building up its African operations as
part of a plan to double emerging-market revenue in five years
and reduce dependence on a slow-growing domestic market. The
company is studying four to five possible acquisitions in the
region, Marc Rennard, executive director for Africa, the Middle
East and Asia, said in June.

Entering the Moroccan market would bring France Telecom
into direct competition in that market with domestic rival
Vivendi SA, the majority owner of former monopoly Maroc Telecom.
Vivendi, which also owns number-two French operator SFR, has
used Maroc Telecom as a vehicle for mobile acquisitions in
countries including Burkina Faso and Mali.